Such care-less proposals

WE were told it was the report that was meant to bring an end to the scandal of elderly people being forced to sell the family home in order to pay for their own care.

PUBLISHED: 00:00, Mon, Aug 1, 2011

But the proposals from the Commission on Funding of Care and Support, chaired by the economist Andrew Dilnot and greeted with a fanfare in the political world, may not have been quite as comprehensive as they first seemed.

The impression given by the Dilnot Commission was that no one would have to pay more than £35,000 to meet care costs. But new analysis shows that this is not the case. The limit applies only to nursing care, not accommodation.

So huge private bills will still have to be paid. And all the disincentives towards saving will continue.